I did some research about Antivirus software for my Mediasmart 470 including in these forums. Here is a quick summary from what I learned:

-Most don't like the McAfee SW (except that is free at the beginning)
-The latest MSE released in June 2011 still does not support WHS
-You should use Antivirus SW that is designed for WHS (it has to be able to handle duplicate infected files, headless setups, etc properly)
-Many seems to like Avast which has a version for WHS (though not cheap at $35/year)
-Some recommend not to use Antivurs on the WHS but instead scan the WHS computer from another computer and for that you could even use free antivirus software.

Now to my questions:

1) Is this last advice (no antivirus on WHS, scan from other computer) sound? It certainly does not sound right to me but can somebody substantiate such recommondations?

2) I like ESet but while they show how to install it on WHS (through remote desktop) they don't seem to have a version specifically for WHS. Could you still recommonde ESet?

3) Are there any other antivirus SW that I should look at that are good for WHS?

I run NO Virus Scanner on my server, never have. Antivirus slows down the server and god knows it doesn't need to be any slower or work the harddrives any harder.
Any files that get put on the server start out on a client where they are scanned. If it is clean on the client, why would I need to scan it on the server?

Thats saying I am not downloading anything directly to the server.

To each his own.

On the clients I would go with:
1) Microsoft Security Essentials Free for now
2) Vipre has a lifetime subscription
3) Malware bytes free on demand for a backup.

I run win xp pro 64 bit and keep malware up to date just in case. Keeps things fast.

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EX470 5-3-08 CPU/RAM/BIOS/PS.
X510 3-15-11 CPU/RAM.
X710 2-15-13 DIY.
X510 3-20-13 CPU.
X510 4-25-13 used.
EX490 5-12-13 used.
Ex475 6-15-13 used.
EX485 6-17-13 used

Thanks for the response. I understand that many are not running any antivirus software. However, I do want to have such software for the following reasons:

* A guest might not have a clean machine
* The homeserver is connected to the internet
* The data on the homeserver is worth investing in AV SW (even with additional backups)

The important part of course is, as you pointed out, that the AV SW is not dragging down the already slow system. This is why I am looking for some AV SW dedicated for WHS and user experience from people on this forum.

There's several antivirus discussions on the forums here, a search will turn up more discussion. I don't run Antivirus on my server but do on my clients. Avast seems to be the most popular.

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Alex Kuretz
Remote Notification: Monitoring and alerting for your Home Server via email, Twitter, text message, RSS, push notifications, and on your Mac desktop
Have you tried our Add-Ins? If so, be sure to Rate them at WeGotServed.

Here's a link to a copy of one of the last versions of Microsoft Security Essentials that works on WHS. It installs fine and updates the virus definition files regularly. Do not allow windows update to update the core program, or it will stop working.

As always...I take no responsibility for what the program does to your server. It works great on my X-510. Finally, remember that Microsoft does not support MSE on WHS.

https://rapidshare.com/files/2037051810/mseinstall_en_us_x86.exe

It's version 2.0.0375.0 and needs to be installed and managed using RDC. You will not get a tab in the console for MSE.

Sean

What about the WHS Clam AV add in? Does that work very well?

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41TB MSS EX490(upgraded CPU-E6300(2.8Ghz dual core Pentium)),
4GB memory, MediaSonic 4 Bay eSATA, 4x MediaSonic 4 Bay USB
35TB unRAID1 -- 41TB unRAID2

Here's a writeup on wegotserved about WHSClamAV. I may have to give it a shot.

http://www.wegotserved.com/2010/02/15/w ... k-through/

Here's the website:

http://whsclamav.sourceforge.net/index.html

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My HP Proliant ML110 G6 WHS2011 Server
My Clarkdale HTPC build thread

ClamAV is nice but you must scan your computer. There is no real time protection for it.

For the person who posted the link to Microsoft Security Essentials, do you have the 64 bit version? WHS 2011 doesnt support the 32 bit.

I run Avast on my EX490 (WHS v1) and currently have McAfee Enterprise on my EX487 (WHS 2011). While I concur with Gardian that AV software is overhead on the server, I still recommend the use of it, particularly if you--like me--expose your WHS to the public Internet.

Every second Tuesday of each month I call the dreaded "Microsoft updates Tuesday" because that means they lovingly shove updates down my throat, which always includes an undesired, untimely reboot. If Microsoft made secure software in the first place, they wouldn't need to keep issuing security releases one after another. Take a look at your Windows Update history...what text do you see in a huge number of the updates, particularly the Security updates, and also a fair number of the Office updates? "An security issue has been identified that could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to compromise your system [running Windows <version>] and gain [complete] control over it." Or "a security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office [Application] [Version] that could allow arbitrary code to run when a maliciously crafted file is opened."

WHY then did Microsoft invent "User Account Control" which was supposed to keep us from accidentally jacking up our systems when an "unauthenticated remote attacker" can take them over whenever (s)he wants?

Long story short, if you're exposing IIS to the public Internet, there are malicious individuals who are happy to attack. And when WHS v1 goes end of life, and Microsoft stops providing updates for it, whatever gaping security holes that remain in IIS will never get fixed. So if you're going to actively solicit connections--something a port scanner will readily detect--you should have the best possible security in place to defend your server.

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Matt Sawyer
Owner, Dojo North Software, LLC

HP EX490, 4GB, E5300, 15TB - Server 2012 - Sharing and Streaming
HP EX487, 4GB, E5300, 13TB - Server 2012 Essentials - Backups

I use the Trend micro titanium on my clients and it checks the server as well.